


First Christmas

by ninwrites



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - This World Inverted (Shadowhunters TV), Christmas Fluff, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, First Christmas, Gift Fic, Happy Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Holiday Sweaters, M/M, Romantic Fluff, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 14:44:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13215990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninwrites/pseuds/ninwrites
Summary: It’s their first christmas, together, and that should be exciting - it is - but it’s also, a little nerve-wracking, because Alec likes parties, and Magnus doesn’t, but Magnus really, really loves Alec--There’s just no way to win.. Is there?





	First Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlecWinchester](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlecWinchester/gifts).



> Part 2/3 Heartbreakers™ Christmas fics.
> 
> My first World Inverted fic! Full of love and light and holiday spirit <3
> 
> \--
> 
> For Sam, my kindred spirit, my writing buddy, and of the greatest people I am lucky to know.

On December 1st, Magnus comes home from consulting with a seelie on the level of PH in her favourite pond, to see that Christmas has thrown up in his apartment.

 

Well, perhaps that’s a little too graphic, but the decorations are _everywhere_ \- not a surprise, considering this is essentially what his boyfriend does for a living, but still a little startling, especially since he can’t truly remember the last time he actually celebrated Christmas, or any other holiday for that matter.

 

“Alexander?” He calls out, gingerly ducking beneath a hanging string of sparkling red tinsel. Honestly, the amount of red, gold and green is almost to the point of being sickening.

 

The fact that Alec is so charming as to do all of this keeps it palatable.

 

"One moment, babe." Alec calls back, in the faint distance of the balcony. Magnus can only imagine what he might be doing out there.

 

Magnus drops his keys into the dish on the entryway table, shucking his shoes off by the door, unwinding his scarf from around his neck. It hasn't started snowing yet, not today at least, but the cold had buried beneath his skin, reminding him why he'd usually be somewhere sunnier this time of year.

 

That being said, this is the first holiday period he's spent with Alec, and freezing off all of his fingers would hurt less than being somewhere Alec isn't.

 

Alec walks in from the balcony, wrapped in an emerald cashmere sweater and what Magnus affectionately likes to call designer sweatpants; Magnus had set up a system to ensure there's always warmth around the loft - if only because he absolutely despises the cold - so there's no concern about Alec getting ill.

 

"Evening, darling." Magnus greets as Alec steps closer, grin forming like the rise of the sun in the morning. "I see that you've kept yourself busy on your day off."

 

Alec shrugs, reaching out to cup Magnus' cheek. "I had to do something to keep my mind off your absence. Otherwise, I would have wasted away, missing a piece of my heart-"

 

Magnus kindly shuts Alec up my bringing their lips together, although it can hardly be constituted as a kiss, for the way they are both softly giggling into it.

 

"I missed you too," Magnus admits, when they pull back, his arms winding around Alec's waist. "Even if I was only gone for three hours, four at the most."

 

"It's four too many." Alec declares, fingers curled against the back of Magnus' neck. "You know I can't live without you."

 

Magnus rolls his eyes, the gesture nothing but fond. "I know you're an exaggerating drama queen." He replies. "Just as I know that a life without you wouldn't be one worth living."

 

Alec just, stares, hazel eyes shining with more love than a human heart should be able to handle, lashes fluttering lightly as his thumb strokes the nape of Magnus’ neck. “Good thing I have no plans of letting that happen. Ever.”

 

They’ve discussed it, the differences between them, the limitations of Alec’s lifespan compared to Magnus’ own - it’s not a conversation Magnus would have expected to have barely six months into their relationship, but things with Alec have always been exciting and surprising, and nothing within Magnus’ life could exactly be considered normal.

 

There are possibilities, however rare and potentially dangerous, for Alec and Magnus to spend longer than Alec’s lifespan together, but it’s not something Magnus is considering as of yet. He’s choosing to enjoy the time they have together, to take each day as it comes without looking anxiously to a future nobody can confirm.

 

Alec makes him feel alive. He’d prefer to bask in this new life, far removed from calcification and bones made of stone, where instead of being frozen, his heart beats with light and love incomparable to anything he’s ever felt.

 

There are still days, where he wakes up with Alec’s head pillowed on his chest, and he has to take a minute to just breathe, and remind himself that this is real, he’s lucky enough to have found a love worth keeping, a love that fits him like the puzzle piece he hadn’t known he’d been searching for.

 

This might be their first Christmas together, it might not even be a year into their relationship, but Magnus knows with a certainty unmoving, that there has never been anyone like Alec, nor will there again.

 

It hasn’t been easy, or quick, but he’s found his one.

 

"Is there any reason it looks like we're hosting Father Christmas for afternoon tea?" Magnus asks, pushing back thoughts too heavy for the light atmosphere. "I know this is, essentially, your career but it's a bit much, darling."

  
Alec shrugs, grin never fading. "It's our first Christmas together, I want to make it special." 

  
Magnus' heart threatens to burst from his chest. "Any Christmas with you is bound to be special." 

  
Alec simply brings a happier quality to Magnus' life. He would, truthfully, be lost without him.   


 

* * *

 

 

 

“Christmas was always an event. Dad would dress up as Santa when we were young, bringing in an over-sized red sack of presents; Mom would make her special Holiday Hot Chocolate and let us have shortbread for breakfast and Izzy would wrap tinsel around our heads like crowns - it was always a _big thing_.”

 

Alec shrugs, stirring his candy cane around his coffee. “And then we grew up, and traditions changed. There was eggnog and Christmas parties and kissing strangers under mistletoe and sleeping in until Christmas dinner was called.”

 

Magnus sips lightly as his chai tea. “As all teenagers exploring their sexuality should do.” He teases.

 

Alec rolls his eyes, poking at Magnus with his foot; they’re curled up on the lounge, in front of the enchanted fireplace, taking a chance to just be with each other, without the worries of clients or family members who mean well but ask for more than either would like.

 

“My point is, they were fun, and I’ve always loved Christmas but this year feels, different.” Alec glances up above the rim of his mug, adorned with a simplistic _A_.

 

"Good, different, I hope." Magnus whispers, resisting the smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth.

 

"Naturally," Alec reaches out, tangling his fingers around Magnus' free hand.

 

The silver ring in the middle of his hand, emboldened with a cursive L, presses against Magnus' skin - he's started thinking, foolishly hopeful and naive, about having a ring of his own, on an entirely different finger ... matching ones perhaps, if the idea isn't too nauseating.

 

"Christmas was never a big thing, for warlocks. For Downworlders, at all." Magnus casts his mind back, all whilst his heart beats in the present. "Many of us don't have families, either to misfortune, death or abandonment, so we learnt to create our own; we have our own traditions, they’re simply not restricted to a lone day. It’s always been seen more as an event for mundanes, with lives shorter than ours. I've gone decades without seeing friends, simply because time passes differently for me."

 

Alec hums, thoughtfully. "I don't think I could go decades without you," He brushes his thumb across the back of Magnus' hand. "Truthfully, even hours feel like too long of an absence."

 

"I hate even the mere thought." Magnus admits, a little surprised to find how easy it is.

 

He's never given away his heart, so wholly and completely before, never entrusted it within somebody else's hands, because trust was always broken and promises were nothing more than a string pulled taught until it snapped.

 

Yet, everything is different with Alec. He can't imagine why he wouldn't give his heart to Alec, to protect, when he's already doing a fine good job of loving it.

 

"We should do something, this year." Alec suggests, tongue swiping out to catch a drip of coffee slipping down the length of his mug. "To celebrate."

 

Magnus' heart misses a beat, and not in the way he prefers, not because of Alec but rather as a by-product of a suggestion Magnus would rather not have to face. "Of course. We can invite over your siblings, and their respective partners - Jocelyn and Luke, perhaps, and your parents, naturally, and maybe even-"

 

"Actually," Alec's fingers trace idle shapes against Magnus' inner wrist. "I was thinking of something a little, smaller. Quieter. More intimate."

 

"Oh," Magnus whispers, eloquent as always. "Interesting."

 

* * *

 

 

When Alec said "intimate" Magnus must admit, he hadn't expected this.

 

Alec is quiet about his plans up until Christmas Eve, simply promising Magnus every time he asks, that he has it handled, because he's determined to give Magnus the Christmas he deserves, which includes taking care of everything so that Magnus has no cause for worry or concern.

 

Which, admittedly, both warms Magnus' heart and spikes a curiosity that can't be silenced despite how hard he tries. It's terribly sweet of Alec, whatever he's doing, but Magnus likes knowing what's going on, likes being in control and that is not something surprises can provide.

 

He’s out, all Christmas Eve, running errands and handing out potions, of protection and others more lighthearted in the name of holiday spirit; everything is discounted, some more than others, because he’s not a Scrooge, and he doesn’t exactly _need_ the money - part of his generosity, he’s sure, from Alec’s contagious joy. It keeps him away until the sun has sunk below the horizon, and the only thing on his mind is curling up beneath a warm blanket, preferably with Alec by his side, watching whatever cheesy holiday film is on the TV.

 

He waves his hand, opening the door with magic, less of a habit than something he’s simply too tired to do manually,

 

The lights are what he notices first. Small, delicate fairy lights in the shapes of stars hang from every inch of the room, illuminating the overhead space with a gentle light - there are scented candles on the coffee table and the fireplace mantle piece, cinnamon and vanilla and heaven forsaken _pumpkin spice_ .. and Magnus loves it.

 

Then Alec walks around the corner, in an oversized red sweater with with exaggerated snowflakes and his hair tousled and product free, a lopsided santa hat shoved on top, and Magnus feels tears prick at his eyes.

 

“Merry Christmas Eve, Magnus.” Alec whispers, stepping forward with slow, deliberate steps that counteract with the painful thudding of Magnus’ heart.

 

Alec stops a hand’s width away, producing a pair of reindeer antlers from _somewhere_ , carefully placing them on Magnus’ head. He half-smiles, warm and crooked, and Magnus finds himself mirroring the expression without thought.

 

It’s very easy to smile around Alec.

 

“This is…” Magnus glances around, gaze falling to Alec’s sweater before pulling up to his glittering eyes. “Considerably tamer than I had been expecting.”

 

Most decorations remain, but they’re focused mostly on the tree near the corner, on doors and walls, not _everywhere_.

 

It’s calm and charming and feels more to Magnus like Christmas than anything else has. More even than the lovely antlers Alec has placed on his head.

 

“This is our first Christmas, together.” Alec points out, adjusting his own hat. “It should be fun for both of us. All I did was remove some of the … unnecessary decorations, and get us sweaters.”

 

“You got both of us sweaters?” Magnus fiddles with the hem of Alec’s sweater. “I get one like this?”

 

“Better.” Alec grins, looping his hands around Magnus’ neck. “Yours is a gorgeous emerald green with a cute reindeer on it.”

 

Magnus shakes his head, dipping down to press a soft kiss to Alec’s cheek. “You are more than I deserve.”

 

Alec frowns, thumb stroking the nape of Magnus’ neck. “Not true. Think about us, really consider it - you’re an immortal warlock, I’m a mundane descended from a race of half-angel people … none of it makes any sense. There’s no clear, logical reason as to how we work but _we do._ ”

 

Alec cups Magnus’ cheek, fingers pressed to to his jawline. “We met a party because some version of Clary from another dimension crashed into our world and helped spark your magic-“

 

Alec pauses, his lips curved into a disbelieving smile. “It all sounds insane, it just - it doesn’t make any sense, but…”

 

“Here we are,” Magnus whispers, sliding his hands beneath Alec’s sweater, drawing him close by his hips because the distance between them is frustrating and Magnus is feeling touch-starved.

 

“Your argument is pretty strong,” Magnus admits. “I’m not sure I can fight against it.”

 

“Good.” Alec whispers, pressing a kiss to the corner of Magnus’ mouth. “I have better things that we can do with our time than argue over facts.”

 

Magnus inclines his head. “Perhaps you’re a lawyer in another dimension.”

 

Alec shrugs. “Maybe. All I know, is that in any and every universe, that version of me is undoubtedly and indefinitely in love with that version of you.”

 

It’s all Magnus can do to tug Alec closer and express through actions more eloquent than words, just how much he loves his dimensions’ Alec Lightwood.

 

* * *

 

Alec suggests baking Christmas cookies. Magnus wants to laugh, but Alec looks too serious for it to be funny.

 

“Us.” Magnus waves a vague hand. “Baking?”

 

Alec pouts, hazel eyes exaggeratingly wide. “It will be fun.” He promises, slinking closer to Magnus.

 

Magnus bites back a smile. “Is that a promise or an estimate?”

 

Alec mulls over his answer, for so long that Magnus can practically see the cogs ticking over in his mind. “I trust you.” He says, eventually. “I think we can do this without much of a fuss. And, if something goes wrong-“

 

“A highly likely turn of events.” Magnus murmurs.

 

Alec half-heartedly slaps his shoulder. “As I was saying, _if_ something goes wrong, you can always-“ Alec waves his hand in a mock-impersonation of Magnus. “Fix it.”

 

“I knew you only wanted me for my magic,” Magnus teases, already resigning himself to the fact that he can’t ever say no to Alec, so this is hardly going to be a new occasion.

 

Alec shrugs, playing along. “It is one of your greatest assets.” He slides a hand around Magnus’ waist. “I think it’s clear what some of your others are.”

 

Magnus taps Alec’s hand before it can creep anywhere inappropriate, even if it’s just them, alone, in their apartment.

 

“You’re shameless.” Magnus states, tangling his fingers with Alec. “And I’m so hopelessly in love, that I can’t find a single problem with it.”

 

Alec grins. “How wonderful,” he kisses Magnus’ cheek. “We’d best get to work then.”

 

* * *

 

Two hours later, Alec has flour in his hair and dusted over half of his face, Magnus has cinnamon spice itching his nose and streaked over the _‘oh deer’_ on his sweater - and, cooling on a rack are a spread of sugar cookies and gingerbread people, the latter a little burnt around the edges.

 

“It adds flavour,” Alec had reasoned, when he pulled them out, frowning despite his attempt at positivity.

 

Now he’s less concerned with the state of the baked goods and focused more on pulling Magnus forward by the red pom-pom ball of his reindeer.

 

“Comfortable up there?” Magnus asks. Alec had pulled himself onto the counter, although the height difference is scarcely any different than before.

 

“Yeah,” Alec’s gaze flickers to Magnus’ lips. “Could be better though.”

 

Magnus hums, stepping forward as Alec loops his hands around Magnus’ neck. “Is that so?”

 

Alec nods. “You’re too far away,” he explains, solemnly. “I need you to be eliminating all distance at least twenty five hours a day.”

 

“That’s a heavy task to manage,” Magnus teases. “I don’t know if I’ll have enough hours to stay that close to you.”

 

“You’re magical,” Alec bends down, kissing Magnus’ forehead. “I believe in you, and your ability to make it work.”

 

Magnus leans forward, head inclined. “I can’t tell whether you’re flirting or trying to get something out of me…”

 

“I do not want for anything you aren’t happy to give,” Alec says, tangling one hand in the soft locks of Magnus’ hair.

 

“My dear Alexander,” Magnus sighs, his heart aching behind his fragile ribs. “I would give you the world if I only knew how to hold it.”

 

Alec cups Magnus’ cheeks, hazel eyes boring into unglamoured gold. “You are my world. I have all I need right in front of me.”

 

Alec cares so deeply, he speaks from the heart on his sleeve without pause - it took him barely any time, to chip away at the walls of ice and stone that Magnus had spent centuries building around his heart, to show him the love he’d deemed himself unworthy of.

 

And everyday since their first meeting, he’s made it a mission, to continue to prove to Magnus that what they share is real and true and impossible to find anywhere else.

 

Magnus has never felt so lucky.

 

* * *

 

“There’s an order.”

 

“An order?”

 

“Yes,” Alec nods, solemn and serious. “It’s very important that we follow it.”

 

Magnus frowns, tucking his feet up beneath him. “We’re watching Christmas films, Alexander.”

 

Alec mutters something inaudible and flops his head onto Magnus’ shoulder. “It’s a tradition, Mags, I promised you the best Christmas experience possible and I intend on giving you that.”

 

Magnus rolls his eyes, though it’s nothing but endearing and fond. “You really know the right words to say, don’t you? Okay, I give in. What’s first?”

 

Alec presses closer, tucking his head in the crook of Magnus’ neck. “The Grinch,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to the underside of Magnus’ chin. “Then Home Alone. The Grinch was always Isabelle’s favourite, so it’s always been a sign that Christmas is here … if that makes sense.”

 

Magnus presses a kiss to Alec’s temple, arm wrapped around his back. “Your sister is a constant wonder. And you continue to amaze me.”

 

Alec smiles against Magnus’ neck, lashes fluttering closed. Magnus magicks an oversized blanket to cover them both, sparking the fireplace to life to keep the chill at bay; a projector screen lowers from the roof, blue smoke highlighting the edges.

 

“Grinch it is,” Magnus declares, as the movie flickers to life. “Merry Christmas Eve, Alexander.”

 

“‘Merry Christmas Eve, Magnus.”

 

* * *

 

Magnus isn’t sure when he’d fallen asleep, but he wakes to a crick in his neck and Alec’s head pillowed on his chest, light snores escaping in time with the rise and fall of Magnus’ chest. Alec had fallen asleep mid-way through Elf, and Magnus had adjusted to ensure he’d be comfortable, so as not to wake him, but sometime after he must have drifted off himself.

 

He stretches out, legs tangled around Alec’s. The couch is significantly long, wide enough to fit them both, even Alec with his ridiculously tall frame - but not even space can suit a lone position for hours on end, and Magnus’ limbs have gotten stiff and creaky, like the Tinman’s.

 

Alec grumbles, burrowing further against Magnus’ chest, one hand resting on Magnus’ hip, beneath the layers of cotton and Christmas.

 

Magnus laughs, soft and quietly trapped behind his lips; even the slightest, subconscious action from Alec is enough to brighten Magnus’ spirits.

 

He waves his hand, idly, blue sparks falling from the tips of his fingers as his phone floats up. The screen is dark, but he can make out the time, illuminated in white numbers against a background of he and Alec at a skating rink taken the week before; Magnus has a beige beanie squashed firmly over his ears, Alec’s favourite cobalt scarf wrapped around his neck. Alec has white snowflakes in his fluffy hair, nose and cheeks pink from the cold; he’s pressing a kiss to Magnus’ cheek, as Magnus smiles, eyes crinkled at the corners.

 

It’s one of Magnus’ favourite pictures.

 

Alec shifts, breathing in deeply through his nose, a tiny snore on his exhale. A moment later, his eyes flutter open, blinking blearily at Magnus even as a smile grows.

 

“Hey,” Magnus whispers, rubbing his hand up Alec’s back.

 

“Hello, handsome.” Alec replies, leaning up to kiss the corner of Magnus’ mouth. “Did we both fall asleep? What time is it?”

 

“You drifted off first, but I followed, I imagine, not long after.” Magnus curls his hands in the fabric of Alec’s sweater. “As for the time…”

 

He presses a warm, open-mouthed kiss to Alec’s temple, before whispering: “Merry Christmas, Alexander.”

 

Alec’s grin is bright enough to light the dim room. “Merry Christmas, Magnus. I can’t think of a better way to start the best day of the year.”

 

Magnus personally thinks there’s a higher contender for the best day of the year - the day marking his first meeting with Alec, is by far, better than any other.

 

Alec had a point earlier, it doesn’t make sense, for a warlock with newly-refreshed powers and a nephilim-descended mundane to meet, let alone fall in love and fit so perfectly together.

 

But then, perhaps it is the things that don’t make sense on paper that work so well in practice - either way, Magnus knows that he’ll never love anyone as much as he does Alec.

 

This Christmas is only the first of many wonderful holidays to come; made perfect, by the fact that Alec will be by his side.

 

Alec asked him, the other day, what he’d like for Christmas - but what the darling man doesn’t realise, is Magnus doesn’t wish for anything because he has all he needs.

 

He has a love deep and incomparable, a sense of life he’d never dreamed of - he has Alec, and Magnus can’t think of anything he’d like more.

**Author's Note:**

> 3/3 will be posted sometime tomorrow <3 
> 
> \--
> 
>  
> 
> links - for those interested:
> 
> Twitter: [ninwrites](https://mobile.twitter.com/ninwrites) for fic stuff/updates/snippets + [malteser_24](https://mobile.twitter.com/malteser_24) for general fandom mess + small threads  
> Tumblr: coming soon 
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> \- Nin ❤


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